


The Only Thing You Want

by EstaJay



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: 5+1 Things, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Songfic, mentioned/implied sexual intercourse but nothing explict
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23300497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstaJay/pseuds/EstaJay
Summary: All he ever wanted is to be loved...but all he's ever seen as is an object of desire(An "All You Wanna Do" songfic shoved into a 5+1 format)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 128





	The Only Thing You Want

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to Anna for beta reading!
> 
> (and Warriors is Kate Howard - fite me)

Link is thirteen and he is young. 

He lives in a boarding house with lots and lots of other children. They know they are there because their parents can’t look after them or don’t want them or they don’t have parents at all. But it is also a place to learn. 

His favourite subject is music and his favourite teacher is Ms Mannox. Tall, dark, pretty Ms Mannox. Link likes Ms Mannox. She taught him all about dynamics and always has something new to teach him - like a new chord or song or sometimes even a new instrument. Link absorbs it all very quickly - quicker than any of his other classmates. Ms Mannox says that he’s the best student she’s ever had. That makes Link blush. 

Ms Mannox says that he’s her favourite student. She gives him extra special lessons when it’s just the two of them in the music room. She sits Link in her lap and holds his tiny hands in her larger elegant ones as she shows him new chords for the lute. They spend hours like this. She plants kisses on his forehead whenever he gets something right and is always gentle when he gets something wrong. 

“There’s so much I can teach you.” Ms Mannox says. “So many  _ special  _ things.”

And Link is excited. “You always have the funnest things to teach, Ms Mannox!” He giggles.

She laughs and runs her fingers through his hair. “You really are the fairest of the fair.”

The grown ups talk about finding  _ the one  _ and Link’s super sure that this is it. Ms Mannox cares so much and it feels legit. They have a connection and it’s  _ different  _ from anything that Link has ever had before. 

But...

_ Playtime’s over… _

...Ms Mannox suddenly leaves. One day she promises Link a super special lesson but the next there’s a different teacher in the music room. 

Link asks all the grown ups what happened to her but they all give him the same weird look.

“Poor boy,” they whisper when they think he can’t hear them. “The only thing she wanted was-”

* * *

Link is eighteen and he is determined.

The draft came to the boarding house when he was sixteen and like every other able-bodied young man, he joined the army. He works his way up, proving his merit with skill and dedication. There’s no denying that he’s the best soldier in his squad. And the prettiest. Link doesn’t know what to do with the praise but he soaks it up like the little kisses that once dotted his forehead. He doesn’t think about Ms Mannox. Not anymore. He’s old enough to know now.

In his scant two years in the military, Link is transferred to Hyrule Castle and placed under the command of Colonel Francis Dereham. 

His squad has many words for their commanding officer: serious, stern, slow. Link has a different word for the colonel:  _ sexy.  _ From swinging his sword to polishing his armour, there’s passion in everything the colonel touches.

Link is called to the colonel’s office one day and despite being utterly exhausted from training, he goes. The colonel never takes a no. 

He’s surprised when General Impa walks out of the office. Link scrambles into a salute but the general sweeps by without a second glance. 

“Ah - Link.” Colonel Dereham greets. He smiles and it takes all Link’s willpower to maintain his salute and not swoon. “Don’t mind the general. I act as her secretary so expect her to be popping in every once in a while.”

“I - I should be expecting her, sir?” And dammit, Link doesn’t want to sound like a stuttering fool but if what the colonel is insinuating -

“I presume that you are literate?”

“Ye - yes sir! I filled out the enlistment forms for myself and some of the others at my boarding school and-” 

Colonel Dereham smiles again and Link stumbles to a blushing halt. “Excellent. I’ve been in need of an assistant and I’m sure that you’ll fulfil your duties wonderfully.”

The colonel hands Link a quill, his  _ favourite quill,  _ and he cradles it with such reverence it might as well have been the legendary Master Sword. 

“I won’t let you down sir!” 

But Link has just come from a day filled with merciless drills and training. His wrist is so tired and one clumsy nudge spills ink all over the parchment. He jumps to his feet but the damage is done. Black rivers run along the desk and onto the floor and his tunic is already deeply stained. 

He locks eyes with the colonel for the briefest moment then quickly turns away in shame. 

Link hears his footsteps approaching and is prepared to be reprimanded for the mess he made. But instead, Colonel Dereham gently cups his chin and raises his head. Mirth dances in his officer’s eyes and there’s no way for Link to hide his growing blush.

“I think that’s enough. I’ll see you again tomorrow.” It’s still stern Colonel Dereham but there’s a tenderness in his voice that makes Link’s heart flutter. “Good work today, Link.”

Those words continue to echo in Link’s ears as he stumbles back to the barracks red-faced and dazed.

Link comes back the next day as his officer required, covered in more bumps and bruises than usual thanks to his wandering lovesick mind during training. Colonel Dereham laughs, a deep rumbling sound that sends Link sky high. He has such a nice laugh. 

The colonel doesn’t set him to work straight away but instead sits Link down and pulls out a medical kit to tend to his bruises. 

“I apologize for the inconvenience.” Link mumbles.

He would have rambled on but the colonel silences him with a gentle hand to his cheek. “You’re what I need, Link.” He says softly, sending shivers down Link’s spine. “You’re what I want…”

“Sir -”

“Please, call me Francis.”

He plants a kiss on his cheek, the briefest brush that sends Link over the edge. 

Colonel Dereham always gets what he wants. 

And not a second longer, Link’s tunic is on the floor.

Link’s mind drifts back to Ms Mannox. No, the colonel -  _ Francis  _ is legit. He cares so much - every injury he bandages, every worry he kisses away. Then, the tender touches and caresses when it’s just the two of them...if Link had called him passionate before, now -  _ oh now… _

Link eyes the new file on his desk in confusion. “Francis?” the name still feels so foreign on his tongue but at the same time it fills him with such warmth. 

“Yes beloved?” 

It’s such a simple term of endearment but he says it so easily, so casually that it’s like Link is  _ destined  _ to be  _ his.  _

No. Keep those thoughts for the bedroom. Right now, he has a duty to fulfil.

“This can’t be the military budget.” Link’s brow furrows as he looks over the file once again. “The numbers and items are all wrong.” 

Francis smiles. Link is treated with that smile so often now but it never fails to warm his cheeks. “I know. It isn’t.”

“It isn’t.” Link repeats dumbly. 

“Those are my personal accounts. I’m entrusting them to you.”

Link’s eyes widen and his hands shake. He doesn’t know if he wants to drop the file or hold it closer. “You’re entrusting  _ me  _ with your  _ personal accounts.”  _ He says the words slowly. 

It doesn’t feel real.  _ This  _ is an entirely new type of trust, a deeper level to their relationship. 

Francis smiles again, so patient and kind. “It’s a rather wifely duty, yes, but I do believe we’re at that stage in our relationship.”

_ Wifely duty.  _

It isn’t the first time Link nearly swooned around Francis but this is the damn closest. This meant, if it were an option, Francis would consider  _ marriage _ \- right?

A goofy and stupidly wide smile grows on Link’s face and it stays there for the rest of the day. 

Yes, there’s a real connection here. He’s sure this time it’s different. 

But…

_ Playtime’s over... _

The bedroom door opens. 

Link is pushed out of bed.

“General!”

A cold stone floor against his bare skin.

“Colonel.”

He feels a bruise forming.

“I can explain-”

He’s left completely exposed.

“You were sleeping with a subordinate.”

The night air is so cold. 

“It’s only a little fling!”

But nothing could be colder than Fran - than  _ Colonel Dereham’s  _ words.

Link knows when he is being dismissed. He wraps himself in the sheets for the sake of modesty. He leaves the colonel’s bedroom but collapses behind the closed door. He curls into himself, sobbing fat ugly tears into his bare arms. A single moment was all it took for everything to be stripped away. 

The general and the colonel’s argument penetrated through the thin wood.

“You lead that poor boy on! The only thing you wanted was-” 

* * *

Link is eighteen and he is heartbroken.

Colonel Dereham is dishonorably discharged for breaching anti-fraternization rules. His squad is to be disbanded and reassigned.

And Link is nothing but a  _ little fling.  _

General Impa seems to be everywhere. The courtyard, the training grounds, even the barracks - the general is there to throw Link pitying glances. He wishes he could go back to the times when she wouldn’t even spare him a second glance. 

His squad knows.

_ Everyone  _ knows. 

...they always knew.

It had been months since Link had last slept in the barracks and even a blind man could have seen the affections between him and the colonel. Very little was left to the imagination. He was lucky that his roommates had done nothing when he crawled onto his dusty neglected cot in nothing but a stolen blanket and saved their gossip for the next morning. 

Link hears the whispers behind his back and the sniggers around every corner. He had never been close to his squad but now with what they call him when they think he isn’t listening and when they  _ know  _ he is, he would rather spend his spare time alone running more drills and wallowing in his misery. 

It’s another one of those nights. After a brief evening drill, Colonel Dereham’s squad was dismissed for the final time - the weekend is theirs to waste and the next word they recieve will be their new assignments. While the rest of the soldiers run off to the bars and pubs and brothels, Link sets up another training dummy and continues to practise. 

Night after night like this has made fighting second-nature. His blade has become another limb and his body moves on autopilot through complex attack strings and combos. He’s chasing after that warmth - blood pumping red hot through his veins and cold sweat slicking his skin...but adrenaline is nothing compared to passion. There are no tender touches to soothe his weary muscles, no sweet kisses to tell him a job well done.

Someone taps his shoulder and Link is a hairbreath from lopping the fool’s head clean off his neck. 

It’s another soldier - a member of his squad. His face is familiar but his name escapes him. A part of Link takes sardonic pleasure at the raw terror plastered on the soldier’s face - he has a handsome face. A strong jawline and cheeks free of baby fat with eyes that gleam with youth...

Link quickly shakes the thoughts out of his head and lowers his sword. His face is set in a stern cold frown and he has no words for the soldier. Hopefully the fool will get the message and leave him alone. 

But instead he smiles and clasps his hands behind his head. “That’s some really fancy swordplay there. Never thought I would see anything like it.”

_ “I’m more than just a pretty face and a pair of open legs”  _ is what Link doesn’t say despite how much he wants to throw those words back at the gossip mongers. He doesn’t say anything at all. In three days time, he will never see this soldier again. The general probably has plans to transfer Link to as remote an outpost as humanly possible and let the scandal die with his meger military career. 

Link turns back to the training dummy and prepares for another standard attack string. He might as well enjoy the castle facilities while he still can. 

But the foolish soldier doesn’t take a hint. “Do you really want to spend your last days in Castletown running the same drills they’ll run us ragged with in whatever shithole we get shipped to?” He nudges Link’s shoulder and it takes all his willpower not to spin around and stab the annoyance. “C’mon, live a little! The city has the best beer! The best beds! The best  _ bedmates.” _

He nudges Link’s shoulder again and Link swings his sword at him. He nicks his neck, not deep enough to be painful but just enough to draw blood. 

“Fine then. Be that way.”

Link thinks he’s finally rid of the fool - but his training dummy is kicked away and the fool stands opposite him with a sword in hand. He stands dumbstruck for a moment and the soldier smirks. 

“What? A live opponent is better than some sticks and straw.”

And he lunges at Link. 

The soldier’s form is sloppy, his guard is full of openings and Link’s lost count of how many opportunities he’s had to land a killing blow - but they end up sparring deep into the night. A live opponent does make all the difference and Link finds himself smiling at their dance of sweat and steel. 

The two soldiers lie on their backs - panting and laughing on the dusty training ground. Link is thoroughly exhausted but he can’t remember the last time he’s been this happy. He turns to the other soldier and -

And their lips meet. 

It’s a quick chaste kiss but it turns Link into a blushing mess that he wishes he has the energy to hide. The soldier smiles at him and Link thinks back to Ms Mannox and her kisses, to Francis and his touches. 

In three days, he’ll never see this soldier again.

It’ll be nothing but a little fling.

Well, if he’s nothing but a  _ little fling  _ he might as well give it a try. 

They spar a second time that night - though not with steel swords. 

Link should have left it there but he seeks out the soldier,  _ Thomas,  _ the next night and the night after that. He finds the warmth that he could never find in training, regains what he lost when he was pushed out of the colonel’s bed. 

The new week comes along with their reassignments. To Link’s surprise, he’s staying in Hyrule Castle - now under the command of General Impa herself. From the sounds of disappointment from the other members of his squad, none of them are as fortunate. 

He finds out that Thomas is being transferred somewhere in Faron. Link knows that this is supposed to be a ‘little fling’ but they have this connection - something different. The distance will be hard but they could always write! He remembers that one of the girls from the boarding house now lives in that area so she could act as their go-between and teach Thomas to read and write if he doesn’t know how. 

With those grand plans in mind, Link skips down the stairs to the common room. 

_ Playtime’s over... _

Link stops when he hears the voices behind the closed door. 

There’s laughter. Harsh coarse drunken laughter.

“That easily?!”

“He’s simple once you know how to approach him. Get ‘im all hot and bothered and he’ll open  _ right up  _ and he’ll keep coming back begging for more.”

“Damn, makes me wish I gave him a try before getting shipped out to bum-fuck-nowhere.”

“Hey, meet him at the training ground and who knows what  _ possibilities  _ he’ll be open to.”

“Ha! Even not, three to one, that pretty boy doesn’t stand a chance.”

There’s more roaring laughter and Link leaves. 

Thomas and two other soldiers stagger onto the training grounds barely sober enough to walk straight let alone wield a sword. Link knocks them out without breaking a sweat and leaves them there for their new commanding officers to find in the morning. He’s lucky they were too drunk to notice his tears. 

Of course, the only thing he wanted was- 

* * *

Link is nineteen and he is a hero.

In a moment of recklessness that should have gotten him killed, a glorified triangle shines on his hand. They dress him up in green and blue and parade him around as the Legendary Hero of Courage. The Hero of Warriors, they call him, a Hero’s Spirit with a Hyrule Warriors’ Heart. Morale is at an all time high and they’re finally turning the war around. 

Everyone forgets about Link, the soldier and the scandal. Even Link does. He is a hero with a duty to fulfil and honour to uphold. He throws himself in battle and strategies - letting thoughts of failed love fade away. This is the break from boys he needed.

But what happens to a war hero when the war is over?

Zelda, the princess who will soon be crowned queen. She towers over Link by a head, not that it’s much of a feat. This was the blood of the goddess, globally revered. 

She talks about preserving the peace and ensuring the safety of the kingdom and Link nods along as he kneels before her. 

“You’re what I need, hero.” Zelda says. “You’re what Hyrule needs.”

Yes, that was something that they both agreed. Wherever the princess assigns him now, that is the place where he’s meant to be. Link had fought alongside Sheik and he trusts whatever decision Zelda will come to. 

From the corner of his eye, Link spys General Impa’s open unease. The general probably only sees him as the former colonel’s ill-fated bedmate. There is still so much that he has to prove to her. 

_ Playtime’s over… _

Link is assigned to the Temple of Souls. He only has to take one look at Cia’s deranged glee to know why the princess sent him there. Insurance. 

A pretty face and open legs sent to placate a witch who started a war. 

Cia wastes no time at all. She doesn’t care about the when or how, she just wants the hero  _ now.  _

“Love,” Cia says, dragging her nails down Link’s chest. “We have this beautiful  _ connection…” _

Link barely pays attention to her words, just focusing on squishing his disgust and not recoiling at her touch. 

“Why don’t we make it something more  _ permanent?” _

Link had trusted the princess but...she wasn’t so different. 

The only thing she wanted was-  __

* * *

Link is nineteen and he is married. Whoo. 

An intricate gaudy band of ruby and onyx adorns his left ring finger. A very pretty shackle. 

With Cia, it isn’t easy. She may have one hero bound by matrimony but that isn’t enough to satisfy her lust and greed. Cia’s temper is short but it gets even shorter whenever she sees a hero with someone who  _ isn’t  _ her - which is practically all of them. 

But Link knows his duty. He soothes the jealous beast with little kisses and tender touches then leads her away to the marriage bed when her attention is focused solely on him.

Cia won’t be starting another war as long as Link’s there to keep her sated. 

That is his life now - a pretty face and open legs. 

This isn’t the life Link had planned. There wasn’t much to do in the solitude of the Temple of Souls. Cia is more than happy to conjure shadow copies for him to train with. However, the identical shadows unnerve him and he would rather isolate himself until Cia called on him rather than entertain that fleeting mockery of companionship.

But then there’s Lana. 

Sweet Lana. 

She has the same duties as Cia but never lusts or rages after the other heroes. She doesn’t have Cia’s temper and when she’s there to help soothe her, Link is spared a night in the bedroom. 

Cia only ever seeks Link out when she wants to be satisfied but Lana takes time out of her busy day to check if Link is doing okay. She’s not a fighter but she happily watches Link run his drills against imaginary opponents. When Cia isn’t watching, they lie in the courtyard and watch the clouds. 

Lana is the friend that Link needed - no romantic strings attached. 

It’s one of those rare days when Cia needs to leave the Temple and one of those rarer days when Link doesn’t have to accompany her. Link lounges under the tallest tree in the courtyard, letting his body rest after an intense training session and enjoying Lana’s silent company as she reads a book beside him. It’s a moment that Link wishes to last forever. 

_ Playtime’s over.  _

Link closes his eyes for a moment and feels a pair of lips on his own. He’s startled awake and pushes his entire body against the tree trunk in the futile hope that he could phase through it. In his haze, he thinks that Cia had returned early but his vision clears and it’s  _ Lana.  _

She pulls away, an innocent blush on her cheeks as if she hadn’t just shoved her tongue down his throat. 

Link is frozen. His eyes are wide with betrayal. 

He thought this time was different.

How could he think she was different?

It’s never  _ ever  _ different.

The only thing she wanted was-

* * *

Warriors is twenty-three and he is tired. 

This shadowy threat gave him the freedom he missed. He throws himself into the battle - trying to ignore the phantom kisses and touches that never left him as he chases after a warmth that’s colder than passion. 

Warriors lets the others think that he’s nothing but a vain pretty boy - chasing after skirts and taking every pair of legs that would open to him. 

Warriors is jealous of the other heroes. 

Young Link - Time, was able to find someone who saw all his traumas and still loved him anyway. 

Sky had an unwavering devotion to his Zelda.

Wild was loved and adored by everyone he meets - absolutely no strings attached.

And Warriors has nothing - just a lifetime of being an object of desire. 

It’s his shift during night watch. Wind is his partner but he doesn’t fault the boy for falling asleep on duty. He wraps the boy in his scarf and lets him have a well deserved rest. Wind is fourteen and already a hero thrice over. Warriors desperately pleads that he doesn’t have a Ms Mannox in his life or will meet a Colonel Dereham in the future. 

Warriors takes off his gloves and gauntlets for the first time since joining the heroes. The shackle is still there - mockingly gleaming at him in the moonlight. He doesn’t dare take it off. Cia would know if he did. 

“Would you look at that - pretty boy’s hitched.”

Warriors scrambles to hide his hands behind his back but it was already too late. Twilight and Legend have arrived to take over night watch and he knows they aren’t going to let this lie. 

Twilight frowns at him with his arms crossed - a pale imitation of the old man. “Does your spouse approve of your behaviour?”

“It was arranged.” Warriors says curtly.

He picks Wind up onto his back and makes his way back to camp but the other two heroes aren’t ready to end the conversation. 

“So you’re nobility.” Legend says. 

“The hand of the hero is an invaluable asset - one that can bring wars to an end.” He throws them a sardonic grin. “A word of advice, be wary when your princess asks a  _ favour  _ out of  _ duty.”  _

“Do you love them?” Twilight asks.

Warriors laughs in reply - startling the others. He doesn’t have the right to love. 

They want to probe more but Warriors is done talking. 

But just before they reach camp, a pair of arms softly tighten around his neck.

“Go back to sleep, Wind,” Warriors says. “Our shift is over.”

“I love you.” Wind says softly.

And Warriors stops in his tracks. 

“You’re my brother, I love you.” Wind says again, much firmer this time as he tightens his hug around Warriors’ neck. 

The boy drifts back into sleep but those simple words warm Warriors’ heart more than any battle or night between sheets. 

That’s the only thing he ever wanted. 


End file.
